Wichita eagle., 1887-10-18

his brain night and day.
The disappearance of the two mer
created no excitement, except, perhaps
in their own companies. Gates roame6
the streets and made acquaintance
among the Federal officers, but days and
weeks rolled by and nothing occurred te
alarm him.
| One day happy thought struck him.
| A neighbor desired to rent his house.
| Why not let him have it, and 60 north OF
west, or anywhere, for q few years until
this horror was forgotteny
| Fortunately it was easy to make safe
| and satisfactory arrangements. Gates
/ turned over the house to his tenant, and
| with the first quarters rent in his pocket
set his face northward.
Ill
| The war had been over ten years when
| the wanderer returned. In his absence
he had prospered, and his face wore the
placid composure of man who had no
past TO regret, and no secret to hide
from his fellow men.
Gates demanded the house, and his
faithful tenant gave it up. The owner
furnished it comfortably and moved in,
and appeared to be SO well pleased with
his surroundings that his old neighbors
were delighted.
II have seen every nook and corner in
the house except the cellar" remarked a
friend who was going over the house with
the proprietor
'"The CELLAR" exclaimed Gates 'Oh,
yes, of course III show you that"
He lei the way, and his companion
praised everything In high terms
1.-The wall at this end" he said, sis
well built, but it is more massive than
any other part of the work. it was built
to last forever"
Just So" replied Gates, with dry
laugh. ''No, don't mean that exactly.
The supply Of material was limited and
the mason used what he had. l am sat
isf1ed with it,
But after the departure Of his guest
Gates scowled and shook his fist.
oh him for q meddling foolr' he
said. What does he know about it,
Suspicious, perhaps, and wants to ny
around here. Hum! l must be on my
guard
The wretched man paced the floor.
1T is the mystery of it and not the
deed, he continued, ''that weighs upon
my mind. l found robber in my house
and l slew him. There was no crime in
that. But had to bury two men instead
Of one. Who was the second mani Who
killed him2 How came his body thereS
No living person but myself could have
entered the cellar. Pshaw! / am going
over the same questions that have worried
me TOR the last ten years. There is no
explanation, absolutely none, and am q
fool to 60 on in this way"
The visit to the cellar seemed to un-
nerve Gates, and his health and spirits
began to decline.
A heavy rainstorm set in, and Gates
found himself alone one night There
was no danger Of interruption in such
weaSher, as nobody would care to pay O
visit except in case of life and death
81 must see theml' cried Gates, "and
will"
He went to the outhouse where the
tools were stored, and then proceeded to
the cellar.
1t was as hard to tear down the wall as
it had been to build it, but after awhile
the worker succeeded in removing great
mass of granite and mortar
Gates reached over back Of the wall
and pulled out a skeleton covered with
tattered fragments of blue. He laid it on
the fiocr.
SIS that the man killed OF the otherf''
he whispered
Another pull and the second skeleton
rested by the side of the first.
81 thought" gasped Gates, that I felt
something else over there"
He stretched out both hands behind the
wall and caught something He dragged
1t out, and threw it on the floor.
Then he held up the lamp and stared
wildly before him.
There were three skeletons on the f1oorl
'One, two, three" said Gates.
He rubbed his eyes and began the count
again.
zone, two, threer'
He fell on his knees and felt OF each
skeleton.
zone, two, threep' he shrieked.
1t was more than the suffering man
could stand. He toppled over, limp and
motionless, in @ dead faint.
Early in the morning the few people In
the streets were astonished TO see Gates
running aimlessly in every direction. His
dress was disordered and his eyes glared
like those Of q maniac.
zone, two, threep' he shouted.
Several attempts were made to stop
him, but he broke away and continued to
run Some one saw him draw long
knife, and the crowd scattered, fearing
that lie was about to attack them.
zone, two, threep' screamed the mad
man, plunsing the knife into his breast
three times.
He fell on the sidewalk, rolled over
once and was dead when the spectators
reached the spot.
Quite sensation was caused by the dis
covery Of three skeletons in the cellar I'M
der the Gates house, but the mystery was
never explained. 1t was generally sur
missed that some horrible tragedy must
have occurred there during the war, bus
It's nature and the parties to il could not
be ascertained. 1t was thought that
Gates had unexpectedly come upon the
skeletons, and the fright occasioned by
the CHASTITY spectacle had turned him into
a raving madman.-Wallace r. Reed In
Atlanta Constitution.